Death of Astro, one of the founders of the reggae group UB40

The former musician and founding member of the British reggae group UB40, famous in the 1980s with hits like Red Red Wine, died at the age of 64 from an illness.

“We are totally devastated to have to tell you that our beloved Astro passed away today after a brief illness”, indicated on Twitter, Saturday evening, November 5, his current group, which bears the name of UB40 featuring Ali Campbell & Astro. “The world will never be the same without him”, is it added.

We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken to have to tell you that our beloved Astro has today passed… https://t.co/cIlNkaYuoz

– UB40 (@ALI CAMPBELL & ASTRO)

Terence Wilson, Astro by his stage name, performed with UB40 until 2013 before forming another group with singer Ali Campbell. His former group expressed his emotion on Twitter : “We heard the sad news tonight that ex-UB40 member Terence Wilson, better known as Astro, has passed away after a brief illness. All our condolences to his family. “

A name in reference to the unemployment rights form

Led by a reggae more melodic than inventive and innovative, UB40 has collected hits, including many covers: Here I Am, Kingston Town, Can’t Help Falling In Love…

The cover of the song Red red wine by Neil Diamond has propelled the group to the top with more than 100 million records sold. The name of the group, founded in 1978 in Birmingham, refers to the UK Unemployment Benefits Form 40.

Drummer Jimmy Brown told the Guardian this year that the group had been under surveillance by UK Home Intelligence. “MI5 had bugged our phones and monitored our homes”, he said. “We are not planning a revolution, but if a revolution were to take place, we knew which side we were on”, he said.